The Women’s 1st XI put in an excellent all-round performance to convincingly beat Woodford Wells at Upminster Park on Sunday. Wells won the toss and asked Upminster to bat, but they may have quickly been regretting that decision as Paige Roche and Danielle Cox put on 101 for the first wicket in quick time. Roche reached her half century before Cox fell for 19, and Roche was then out soon after for 78 (from just 43 balls) as Upminster slid to 105-3, Portia Blogg claiming all three wickets for Wells. Upminster captain Zoe Quested was forced to rebuild with Lois Gable, but after a period of consolidation they began to up the run rate once more. Gable fell for a well made 29 but Quested then began to find the boundary freely and brought up her first 50 of the season with a four through mid-wicket. Quested was well caught on 70 before Georgia Hayes plundered 31 as Upminster looked to reach the 300 mark. Wells stuck to their task well though, and picked up a number of late wickets as Upminster were all out for 277 with two balls of their allocation not used.

Keya Shah and Coco Thomas both struck early in the Wells reply as the visitors slumped to 13-2 before Blogg and Olivia Andrews dug in and took the score past 50 without further loss. Shah bowled Andrews for 42 and then picked up her third wicket the very next ball as Upminster took control, and when Gable trapped Blogg in front for 13 Upminster sensed victory. Gable proceeded to rip through the middle and lower order, claiming amazing figures of 5-3 to complete an excellent individual afternoon and weekend. Shah finished with 3-32 as Wells were all out for 76 to give Upminster a 201 run victory.

An unfortunate injury to young all-rounder Ollie Clarke led to the abandonment of the Sunday League XI’s latest contest at Bardoli. Clarke injured his back and neck attempting to take a catch in the outfield in the 19th over of the Bardoli innings, and with an ambulance needing to attend the game was abandoned. Ollie has since been checked at hospital and has returned home with no major concerns, and we wish him well. We would like to thank Bardoli CC and the match officials for their assistance and understanding.

Until that point the game looked like it would end in a tight finish on a difficult pitch. Captain Callum Berry made a brilliant 90, from just 61 balls, and with support from Gus Philpot (37) and Jamie Green (20) Upminster moved into a good position. There was also an excellent and mature late innings from Dylan Narbheram who in partnership with Patrick Gulvin took the Upminster total to 218. Ollie Burley picked up two early wickets to leave Bardoli in trouble, but Huzaifa Hafesji led the home side’s fightback with 68 and he received good support from captain Zakariya Bham. Clarke himself dismissed Hafesji to put Upminster on top, and a sixth wicket had just fallen to leave Bardoli on 130-6 when the game was called to a halt. Upminster remain in second place in the table.

It was also an excellent day for our junior sides with six games played and six wins picked up. There were wins for the U9s (v Great Baddow in Central Cup), the U10s (v Bentley in Central Softball League), the U11s (v Hornchurch in Central Cup), the U12s (v Chelmsford U13s in Central League), the U13s (v Springfield in Central League) and the U12 Girls (v Hornchurch Athletic in Central League). The U14s also advanced in the Central Cup after their opposition conceded.